McDonald’s Profit Continues To Sag As It Works To Become More “Relevant”

McDonald’s stock dropped after the company posted a 30 percent drop in third quarter profit and significant declines in restaurant traffic globally. CEO Don Thompson acknowledged the company, which serves 70 million customers a day, has some image problems – is it still relevant? -- especially in an era of growing consumer interest in fresh, unprocessed food. To help solve the problem, Thompson said McDonald's is simplifying menus, tailoring food to local tastes, offering custom burger and sandwich options, rolling out mobile services, and launching a social media "dialogue" with customers.

"McDonald's CEO acknowledges image problems after tough results", Reuters, October 21, 2014

Consumer Pressure On Flavor Companies Mounts

Consumer and environmental groups have asked the FDA to take a closer look at the currently self-regulated flavors industry to make sure so-called natural and artificial flavors are really safe. Consumer watchdog scientists argue that if the stuff is so safe, why is it so secret? The global flavor industry is pegged at about $23.91 billion, up 19 percent from $20 billion in 2000, about half of which is for food, the other half for fragrances. The Flavors and Extract Manufacturers Association says it has found around 3,000 different flavors to be safe, and most are used in minute quantities. FEMA companies worry that disclosing their ingredients even in such small amounts, would spur more consumer complaints, something flavor companies would like to avoid. Nevertheless, consumer concern about the safety of ingredients is increasing steadily.

"Natural and artificial 'flavors' fuel food industry but remain a mystery", Startribune.com, October 09, 2014

Genetic Researchers Seek Durum Wheat’s Softer Side

Durum wheat is a “hard” wheat typically used to make pasta, but considered unfit for other baked goods. The USDA may have fixed that problem by developing a soft durum variety – without using genetically modified organisms (GMO). They did, however, alter the chromosomes in the wheat kernel by inserting puroindolines, the genes that influence texture and hardness. The result was a softer texture and different size that could still be milled through regular hard durum mills. Testing found that the softer durum flour produced good cookies and pancakes, but not better bread. Further research will involve moving glutenin genes into the soft durum grain to improve dough and gluten strength when baking.

"Non-GMO soft durum wheat promising for bakers, says USDA-ARS", Bakery and Snacks, October 22, 2014

What The World Needs Now: Imprintable Pasta

Whether a new technology will change pasta making forever remains to be seen, but the recently unveiled ability to imprint pictures on noodles is capturing a lot of attention. The Pretty Pasta Company of Grand Blanc, Mich., launched with three key ideas: sketching images for a customer’s pasta, adding photos, and personalizing noodles with text and images. The resulting products are completely edible, and boiling for 13 to 15 minutes does not distort the images. Company owner Shawn Murray-Laursen hopes to expand on her innovative pasta technology by offering flavored noodles: bubblegum, blueberry and key lime Moroccan spice.

"New Grand Blanc company bills itself as world's first to print photos, messages on edible pasta", MLive.com, October 15, 2014

Private Label Food Sales Grow As Affordable, Healthy Option For Consumers

With consumers increasingly looking to eat healthy on a budget, private label food products have burnished their image, becoming “trusted, quality lines” that compete well with national brands, a market researcher reports. Private label represented about $106 billion of the $530 billion food and beverage market in 2013, a two percent increase. Private label offers retailers several advantages: higher profit margins than name brands, they help differentiate the retailer from competition, and they help build customer loyalty. Retail dollar sales of private label food and beverages are expected to grow at a CAGR of four percent to $122 billion in 2018.

"Private label expected to grow as consumers seek affordable, healthy food", Institute of Food Technologists , October 21, 2014

Volatility In Global Agriculture Needs To Be Addressed By The World’s Brightest

IT and Internet companies (e.g., Apple, Google) are grabbing a lot of media attention lately, but hardly anybody is paying attention to agricultural activity, which is “breaking records”, according to The Atlantic’s Moisés Naím. Worldwide wheat production is at the highest levels ever, and farms and granaries are over-flowing, mainly because high prices have encouraged farmers to boost cultivation. High prices are the result of population growth, increased food consumption in poor countries, the use of grains to make fuels, and frequent extreme climate events. Lower prices will lead to production declines -- the cycle continues. The key problem, Naím says, is that greater food-related volatility will lead to social and geopolitical instability affecting millions of people globally. He suggests that the geniuses in high tech might want to try solving the puzzle.

"The World Is Full of Grain", Moisesnaim.com, October 14, 2014